Contents Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 10 1. Zaire – African Ignorance and Mobutu’s Influence 14 2. Colonialism, CAF and the Complicated Road to Recognition 29 3. Roaming Foxes and the Disgrace of Gijon 46 4. Morocco’s History Boys 63 5. Roger Milla’s Italian Job 72 6. All Eyes on the Eagles 88 7. Senegal’s Eastern Promise 106 8. Fresh Faces for Germany 125 9. The Fall and Rise of South African Football 142 10. The Tournament, Part I – Welcome to Africa 160 11. The Tournament, Part II – Black Stars Shine Bright 168 12. More Money, More Problems in Brazil 190 13. From Russia with Little Love 211 Epilogue 226 Statistics – The Complete Record of African Teams at the World Cup 231 Bibliography 252 1 Zaire – African Ignorance and Mobutu’s Influence THE WORLD Cup of 1974 may have been the tenth edition of the tournament but for many fans and observers of the global game, this would be their first experience of seeing a team from sub-Saharan Africa playing football at any level. The tournament had seen fleeting glimpses of Egypt and Morocco previously, but there was generally a greater familiarity with teams from the north of the continent due to its proximity to Europe, and the fact several players from the region had already migrated to European clubs. Zaire, on the other hand, was far further south than many in the global north would have even been aware of, let alone travelled to, and was certainly an unknown entity as far as football was concerned. However, it isn’t as though they had simply wandered in off the street to compete at the World Cup. This was, at the time, an African powerhouse who had lifted the coveted African Cup of Nations just three months earlier. They may not have shown it in West Germany, but the team known as the Leopards were something of a force to be reckoned with back in Africa and the story behind their 14 Zaire – AFRICAN IGNORANCE and Mobutu’s INFLUENCE calamitous World Cup experience is far, far more complex than it appears. The large region in the centre of Africa today known as the Democratic Republic of Congo has a storied, complicated and brutal history. In pre-colonial times, the transatlantic slave trade saw millions of Africans forcibly transported from its western coast to the Americas, leading to the region becoming increasingly fragmented and impoverished. European settlers were reluctant to venture inland, meaning much of the area initially remained free of colonial rule. From 1874 however, the British explorer Henry Morton Stanley, on behalf of Belgium’s King Leopold II, was sent to the region and eventually established treaties with local rulers along the Congo River in order to gain territory. These treaties in essence saw land surrendered to Stanley and the Belgian monarch and under the guise of humanitarian work, Leopold set up the International African Association. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–85 and the notorious ‘Scramble for Africa’ where the continent was divided up among European superpowers, the controversial monarch was granted the personal and private control of what he called the Congo Free State. As far as ironic names go, they don’t get much wider of the mark than this. What followed was a brutal campaign of forced labour where natives were put to work to extract ivory and rubber for growing international markets. Failure to comply or even meet the demand resulted in beatings, dismemberment of hands or feet, and shootings. There were also stories of torture, beheadings and the burning of entire towns to the ground. As an estimate, reports range between ten to 15 million deaths from a lengthy campaign of atrocities before Belgium annexed the region in 1908, creating the Belgian Congo. While not as horrifying as the 15 NO LONGER NAÏVE Free State, the country was still under colonial rule and in 1959, deadly protests saw increased calls for independence which was finally granted a year later. The newly established Democratic Republic of the Congo was still in a state of chaos when the first democratically elected Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, was assassinated in 1961, and a CIA- backed coup saw military officer Mobutu Sese Seko seize power in 1965. The country was crying out for stability and its own identity, and Mobutu felt he was the man to provide it. But this was by no means through benevolence. As one of Africa’s ‘big men’ leaders, Mobutu enacted a system which made it impossible for political opponents to challenge his position. Those who did were imprisoned, tortured or worse. An ultra-nationalist stance saw him rename the country Zaire in 1971 and change his own name from Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu waza Banga, which translated as ‘The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake’. An emphatic proclamation of how he viewed himself, just in case there was any doubt. With his trademark leopard-skin hat perpetually perched atop his head, the flamboyant dictator’s one-party rule would see him unopposed at elections, giving him free rein over the country’s economy and finances with support from the USA due to his supposed anti-communist and anti-Soviet position. Over the years Mobutu would line his own pockets while his people suffered. He did, however, invest heavily in sport as a means of winning over the masses. Mobutu’s backing paid off on the football field as the team won the 1968 Africa Cup of Nations in Ethiopia, beating the dominant Ghana side of that era 1-0 in the final. As part of Mobutu’s campaign of ‘authenticity’, all 16 Zaire – AFRICAN IGNORANCE and Mobutu’s INFLUENCE players were required to be based domestically, meaning those playing abroad would have to return if they were to represent the national team. Conversely, Mobutu looked overseas to find the team’s manager. In 1972, Yugoslavian Blagoje Vidinić was hired to take charge ahead of Zaire’s World Cup qualification campaign, having already managed an African side in the form of Morocco at the tournament in Mexico two years earlier. Zaire cruised through the first three rounds of qualifying by beating Togo, old rivals Ghana, and Cameroon before a showdown with Vidinić’s former side in the final-round three-team group, which also featured Zambia. After two wins against the latter, Zaire welcomed Morocco to Kinshasa knowing a win would see them become the first African team from south of the Maghreb to reach the World Cup. FIFA’s report of what was by all accounts a feisty affair claims ‘crunching tackles rained down on the north Africans, urged on by an increasingly desperate crowd’. The home side took the lead after a ‘frantic goal-mouth scramble’ in which Kembo Uba Kembo forced the ball over the line despite claims from the Moroccan goalkeeper, Ahmed Belkoucrhi, that he had been fouled. Two more goals saw Zaire, and by extension Mobutu, make history and reach the finals in West Germany. Morocco, so incensed by the refereeing in the match, withdrew from the return fixture, handing Zaire a walkover. The scale of the achievement was monumental. Mobutu rewarded each player with a house and car as a token of his appreciation for bringing a sense of pride to the nation, and presumably distracting the population from his kleptocratic rule. In March 1974, the team returned from Egypt to a raucous ovation at Kinshasa airport. Zaire had secured the Nations Cup for a second time following a 2-0 win over Zambia in a replayed final thanks to two goals from striker 17 NO LONGER NAÏVE Ndaye Mulamba. Although not a household name outside of Africa, Ndaye was a legend both in his own country and across the continent. As well as his AFCON-winning strikes, he also scored a brace in the semi-final victory against tournament hosts Egypt on top of both goals in the original drawn final, which had ended 2-2. At this point, it’s worth pointing out that two goals from that initial game – one for each team – came from set-piece free kicks with Zaire very much adhering to, and fully understanding the laws of the game. In total, Ndaye finished the 1974 Cup of Nations with nine strikes, winning the golden boot and being named player of the tournament. Forty-seven years and 23 AFCONs later, no player has scored as many goals in a single edition of the competition. Optimism was high ahead of the expedition to Europe with much of the squad seeing the tournament as a chance to showcase their talents on the global stage and perhaps earn lucrative moves abroad. Mayanga Maku, another star of the team, was nicknamed ‘The Brazilian’ due to his impressive dribbling ability. Defender Bwanga Tshimen, the reigning African footballer of the year, also earned a title of high regard with journalists referring to him as the ‘Black Beckenbauer’. Pulling the strings in midfield was Mavuba Mafuila, himself known as the ‘Black Sorcerer’. As well as colourful aliases for the players, Mobutu had previously changed the nickname of the team from the Lions – the more traditional but commonly used name by teams from the continent – to his preferred title of the Leopards. As such, the squad arrived in Europe with one of the most iconic shirt designs in World Cup history. A green Adidas top with a yellow collar and trim on the sleeves was enlivened by a giant crest of a cartoon leopard holding a football encased in 18 Zaire – AFRICAN IGNORANCE and Mobutu’s INFLUENCE a yellow circle front and centre of the chest.